“You think I should stay here after everything you’ve just told me?”
“No.”
He looked terrified for the first time.
“I think if you leave this house right now, whoever brought you here will know we’ve discovered the truth.”
I stared at him.
“And if I stay?”
His eyes moved toward the security cameras mounted in the hallway.
“Then we might finally find out who has been watching us.”
That evening, I returned to my apartment.
Brandon was asleep.
Lily was watching television under a blanket.
For a few minutes, everything felt normal.
Then I noticed something on the kitchen table.
A small silver chain.
I froze.
I hadn’t left it there.
I picked it up.
It was identical to Alexander’s necklace.
Except this one had something engraved on the back.
Four words.
You were never supposed to know.
My hands began shaking.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Nobody spoke.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then a man’s voice whispered:
“Ask Alexander what happened the night he disappeared.”
The call ended.
I immediately called Alexander.
He answered on the first ring.
“Are you safe?”
I looked toward my sleeping children.
“No.”
There was a pause.
“Did someone contact you?”
“Yes.”
His breathing changed.
“What did they say?”
I told him.
He was silent for several seconds.
Then he whispered:
“Don’t ask me what happened that night.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
“Because if I tell you…”
He stopped.
“Alex?”
“I may not be the man you think I am.”
Before I could respond, I heard a crash outside my apartment.
Lily screamed.
I dropped the phone and ran toward the window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
The headlights suddenly switched on.
And someone stepped out.
A tall man wearing a dark coat looked directly toward my apartment.
Then he raised his hand.
He was holding an old photograph.
Even from the window, I could see what was in it.
It was a picture of me and Alexander at nineteen.
But there was something else in the photograph.
Someone standing behind us.
Someone I recognized immediately.
My mother.
And written across the bottom in red ink were five words:
SHE KNOWS WHERE THE BABY WENT.
Disclaimer: This story is fictional and created for entertainment purposes only. Any names, characters, places, or events are fictitious or used fictitiously. No real person or organization is intended to be portrayed.
